Lieutenant John Graham was born in 1742, in North Carolina. It is
well documented that John lived for many years in Rowan County, North
Carolina. Early Rowan County was home for many early Grahams, and
there has been much debate about which of these many Grahams was the
father of John.

John Graham's service in the American Revolution is well
documented. The North Carolina General Assembly allowed payment to
him, "the 14th July 1781 Lieut. John Graham was allowed fourteen
pounds thirteen shillings specie for militia service by the Board of
Auditors, April 5th."

John probably left Rowan County, North Carolina, in the
mid-1780's. On October 12, 1785, John Graham and wife, Margaret, sold
318 acres on both sides of Hunting Creek in the Forks of the Yadkin
River. The selling price was 100 pounds. The land being sold adjoined
property owned by James Andrews, John McGuire, S.D. Brandon, and
Brice Gather (Deed Book 11, page 496). This deed is important in that
it listed John's wife and therefore helped to differentiate him from
all of the other John Grahams of Rowan County.

John Graham next appears in Kentucky records. He first resided in
Lincoln County. It is important to know that early Lincoln County
actually included much of the entire state of what is now Kentucky.
One of the earliest mentions of John Graham, in Kentucky, was in a
June 19, 1787, Lincoln County Court Order Book:

John Grimes is appointed overseer of the road from Baylor's
Mill to the North Fork of Gilberts Creek, in place of Walker
Baylor.

John Graham's coming to Kentucky may have been a result of his
participation in the Revolutionary War. It seems that just following
the war, Graham was arrested and jailed for theft of a horse owned by
Tory, Michael Holt. Without being cleared, he came to Kentucky. The
heirs of Michael Holt traced John to Kentucky and were still
attempting to collect for their father's horse. In summary, John
Graham's "trading for" Holt's horse during the Revolution was
apparently an accepted practice approved by his superiors. He should
be viewed as a patriot of the American Revolution - not as a horse
thief.

John Graham was married to Margaret. Her maiden name has not been
found. The Bible record lists their son, Enoch. The following is a
list of known children of John and Margaret Graham:

The Garrard County census taken in 1810 listed John Graham. Listed
were one male, age 16-26; two males 45 and up; 2 females ages 16-18;
and 1 female 45 and up. Only John was listed by name, so there is no
way to determine the identity of the extra older man.

According to the Woods Family Bible, Margaret Graham died March 8,
1819, at age 73. From that point on, only one John Graham is listed
in the Garrard tax list and it is impossible to tell if this is John
Sr. or Jr. No tax lists after Margaret's death show John owning any
property anywhere.

John Graham died five years later, on July 10, 1824. He was age
82. John and Margaret's deaths must have been in Garrard County, but
their graves have not been found. On February 20, 1826, James
McFadden, John Graham's son-in-law paid the necessary bond and became
administrator of the John Graham estate. Apparently, neither John nor
Margaret left a will.

The complete documentation of this information about Lt. John
Graham is included in a chapter in my Rogers
Book.

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